DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments TI-89 ViewScreen™
| Date of introduction: | 1998 | Display technology: | LCD dot matrix |
| New price: | ($160.00 in 2001) | Display size: | 100 * 160 pixels |
| Size: | 7.2" x 3.2" x 0.80" 182 x 81 x 20 mm3 |
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| Weight: | 6.7 ounces, 190 grams | Serial No: | 1270V00121 |
| Batteries: | 4*AAA + CR1620 (35mA) | Date of manufacture: | mth 01 year 2000 (C) |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Taiwan (I) | |
| Precision: | 14 | Integrated circuits: | CPU: MC68SEC000 ASIC: TI REF 200C040 Flash: LH28F160 RAM: 2*TC55V1001 |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | 188k Bytes, 702k Bytes Flash ROM | Courtesy of: | Mark Bollman |
The
TI-89 ViewScreen Calculator (VSC) is the teacher version of the
standard TI-89. It connects with a special port to a ViewScreen panel via a cable.
Placing
the panel on the overhead projector enlarges the image of the handheld screen so
that each student can follow along.
The display
of the TI-89 sports 100 * 160 dots compared with the 64 * 128
dots of the TI-86 or the 64 * 96 dots of the TI-83
Plus.
As a consequence introduced Texas Instruments different ViewScreen panels.
Four ViewScreen panels were available in 2008:
| • Panel 1:
TI-73 VSC, TI-73 Explorer VSC,
TI-80
VSC,
TI-82 VSC, TI-83 VSC, TI-83 Plus VSC, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition VSC, TI-84 Plus VSC, TI-84 Plus Silver Edition VSC • Panel 2: TI-89 VSC, TI-89 Titanium VSC, TI-92, TI-92 Plus, Voyage 200 • Panel 3: TI-85 VSC (2nd design), TI-86 VSC • Panel 4: TI-Nspire, TI-Nspire CAS, TI-Nspire Touchpad, TI-Nspire CAS Touchpad |
As an alternative the TI-Presenter video adapter connects to a TV or other projection device with a video input port.
From
a technical point of view the TI-89 VSC is almost identical with the students
TI-89. The first difference you notice is a slightly changed bottom shell of the
calculator housing to accommodate the ViewScreen connector.
Dismantling
the TI-89 VSC manufactured in January 2000 reveals a printed circuit board (PCB)
known as TI-89 Hardware Version 2. The Application Specific Microcomputer SC414181
of the original Hardware Version 1 was replaced with by a standard MC68SEC000
microprocessor with an additional
ASIC for the glue logic. The memory section of the TI-89 VSC is compromised by
two 128kx8 bits RAM chips and one huge 1Mx16 bits Flash ROM.
An
additional PCB is connected with a short piece of flat-cable to the display board.
This PCB basically buffers the signals of the LC-Display and feeds them to the
external ViewScreen connector.
A
deeper exploration of the display drivers shows the unbelievable high density of
electrical connections between the display controllers manufactured by Sharp,
Japan and the
graphics screen.
A serial port of the calculators allows the connection to the
Calculator-Based Laboratory system CBL, its successor CBL
2, the Calculator-Based Ranger CBR and its successor CBR
2. Texas Instruments announced June
2002 an optional full-sized QWERTY Keyboard for a
more convenient entry of notes into the handhelds.
Don't miss the colorful slide cases developed for the TI-83 Plus, they fit on the TI-89 ViewScreen, too.
Hardware-Versions:
The two different hardware revisions of the
TI-89 VSC are known as HW1 and HW2. You can check the HW version of your
TI-89 VSC using the following key sequence and reading the number on your screen:
[F1] [A]
Please notice that HW1 revisions report just the ROM version while HW2 reports the hardware revision, too. Main differences between HW1 and HW2 are the display access (Direct Memory Access vs. Memory Mapped IO), processor speed (10 MHz vs. 12 MHz) and limitations of the assembly program size).
ROM-Versions:
1.00 (July 27, 1998)
1.05 (June 2, 1999)
2.03 (December 8, 1999)
2.04 (March 11, 2000)
2.05 (July 5, 2000)
2.06
2.07 (not released)
2.08 (July 29, 2002, recalled and re-released February 20, 2003)
2.09 (March 27, 2003, actual in February 2008)
Advanced Mathematics Software v2.09
You can check the ROM version of your TI-89 VSC using the following key sequence and reading the number on your screen:
